We Need More LGBT Characters on Television

GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis on LGBT underrepresentation.

Jun 24, 2016

Sarah Kate Ellis is president and CEO of GLAAD. She was instrumental in both the inclusion of LGBT marchers in the New York City Saint Patrick's Day Parade, and the end of the Boy Scouts of America's ban on gay scouts and scoutmasters. Her memoir, Times Two: Two Women in Love and the Happy Family They Made, cowritten with her partner, was published by Simon & Schuster.

When I was growing up, there was a void of LGBT representation in the media. It was always man and woman, boyfriend and girlfriend, mother and father. That dearth on a systemic level contributed to decades of misunderstanding, discrimination, and hate. But to me it meant something else: I could not see my future. Nowhere in movies or television did I see a happy, accomplished, and comfortable lesbian woman living the life she loved. I was quite literally left out of the picture. And I certainly wasn't the only one. Heterosexual, white, cisgender, able-bodied characters have dominated the media from its inception to this very day.

This one-sided cultural representation drove my career. Early on I recognized the power that the media holds to shape culture, share unheard stories, build acceptance, and influence the narrative of our history. I wanted to have a say. I wanted to give a voice to those who were silenced. I wanted to amplify the voices of others who weren't being seen or heard. I never wanted another little girl to look up at a television screen and not see a reflection of all that she could be.

I never wanted another little girl to look up at a television screen and not see a reflection of all that she could be.

The nineties saw a modest but gradual increase in LGBT representation on television. Ellen DeGeneres came out both in real life and on her show, which paved the way for many other inclusive portrayals. Will & Grace proved a series with LGBT leads could be successful. The show also served as a transformative educational tool, introducing millions of viewers to a gay person for the first time and helping them bridge the gap toward acceptance. Shows like Glee and Orange Is the New Black have continued pushing the ball forward.

The news media has also taken instrumental steps in representing LGBT people and their lives. In 2002, following a GLAAD-led campaign that urged inclusion, TheNew York Times printed its first wedding announcement for a same-sex couple, which not only validated same-sex unions as equal, but more importantly provided a possibility for gay people everywhere: We could perhaps one day get married. In 2013, the Associated Press updated its style guide to note that "husband, wife" refers to individuals in any legally recognized marriage, regardless of sexual orientation.

Bryan Derballa

Though the stories of LGBT people are more prevalent than ever before, many such characters still lack substance. The impact is dire: If we see a common trope or stereotype over and over again, we apply it to real life. If this trope is of a community that we don't have a lot of contact with, that trope becomes the basis of our perception of that community.

Part of our work at GLAAD is to analyze the LGBT presence in the media and hold networks and studios accountable for the way they represent (or exclude) LGBT people. Studies have shown that in the absence of knowing LGBT people in real life, viewing media with LGBT characters helps foster understanding and accelerate acceptance. But our recent report card of the largest Hollywood studios found that less than 20 percent of all major films had an LGBT character and, of those that did, almost 75 percent of such characters had less than ten minutes of screen time. We also found that LGBT representations remain overwhelmingly white, cisgender, gay males—a grossly inaccurate representation of our culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse community.

As a parent, I'm hopeful that my own children feel like they can see themselves in the media that surrounds us. But I also know we must do more. Until all of us can look up and see ourselves staring back, there will always be a young person out there who's made to believe happiness is out of reach.

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